Device for winding small ring cores



Aug. 1, 1967 H. J. REY 3,333,779

DEVICE FOR WINDING SMALL RING CORES Filed May 24, 1965 2 Sheets$heet 1 INVENTOR Hans Jakob Reg aw gowgewx 1% ATTORNEYS Aug. 1, 1967 H. J. REY 3,3333% DEVICE FOR WINDING SMALL RING CORES Filed May 24, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Hans Jakob Rey ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,333,779 DEVICE FOR WINDING SMALL RING CORES Hans J. Rey, Bern, Switzerland, assignor to Micafil A.G., Zurich, Switzerland, a joint-stock company Filed May 24, 1965, Ser. No. 458,176 Claims priority, application Switzerland, July 30, 1964, 10,018/ 64 6 Claims. (Cl. 2424) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE For winding small ring cores with a relatively few turns, the rear end of a piece of wire cut to the required length is fixed in position relative to the core. The leading end of the wire is passed through the core into the nip between a pair of feed rolls and is thereafter caused to travel in a looped reentrant path repeatedly through the core until the desired number of Winding turns have been established on the core. The looped path is established by the feed rolls and guide channels located at each side of the core and feed rolls and a rotating disc and feeding belt which extends partially around the circumference of the disc and between which the leading end of the wire passes for each turn formed on the core.

The present invention relates to an improved apparatus for winding ring type cores, especially cores having relative small dimensions of the order of magnitude of only a few millimeters. Ring cores of this type are frequently used in electronic logic and impulse circuits. For most applications, these ring cores require only a relatively low number of winding turns. It is therefore imperative, in view of manufacturing costs, that all preparatory Work necessary for winding the cores, such as involve gripping of the core and threading of the winding wire, and which must be repeated on each core to be wound, be carried out quickly and easily.

On winding machines previously developed for ring winding, the portion of time spent on preparatory work for carrying out the winding process in relation to the actual time required for winding the core is quite high, thus increasing the winding costs considerably. This is due to the fact that the wire to be wound must be first of all stored on a magazine ring which is rotatably supported and passes through the opening in the core to be wound. For ring cores of the relatively small size to which this invention relates, the magazine ring itself becomes exceedingly delicate and hence, magazining and threading of the wire requires a high degree of dexterity and is time consuming. A further disadvantage is attributable to the poor space factor for the available winding space, thi because the residual hole in the wound ring core is always greater than the thickness of the magazine ring.

On other known winding machines usable for winding small ring cores, the forecnd of the winding wire must be fastened to a guiding and pulling member by means of which the wire is pulled through the ring opening. Consequently, this member must be of a very small size in order to be pulled through the ring opening, and its handling requires extraordinary skill and considerable time.

The object of the present invention is to provide a more simple and less time consuming method for doing the preliminary Work involved in winding small-sized ring cores and a related simplified apparatus. In accordance with the improved method, the wire provided for winding the core is held fast at its rear end, and its fore part, by making use of its inherent elastic stiffness, is pushed through the opening in the ring core to be wound by means of conveying elements and guide means leading from and to the ring core.

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The improved apparatus for carrying out the method includes holding elements for the ring core and the winding wire, and is characterized in that holding elements for the fixation of the rear wire end are arranged, whereas for the guidance of the fore wire part from and to the ring core, gripped in the holder, two stationary guide means, one each below and above the ring core are provided for, each with an admitting and leaving end, that further between the ring core and the admitting end of the lower guide means rotatable conveying elements and, for the carrying over of the fore wire part from the leaving end of the lower guide means to the admitting end of the upper guide means, circulating conveying means are arranged, whereby the plane of the path of circulation with the admitting end of the upper guide means and the leaving end of the lower guide means is sideways displaced away from the other admitting and leaving ends of the guide means.

The foregoing as well as other objects and advantages inherent in the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of one suitable embodiment and from the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the wire threading apparatus for winding the ring core, and with certain parts shown in vertical section;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the apparatus in working condition, shortly after the winding process has started; and

FIGS. 3-6 are views similar to FIG. 2 illustrating further work stages in formation of a winding loop.

With reference now to the drawings, a disc '1 is mounted for rotation about its axis, the disc being carried by a shaft 3 which is mounted in suitable bearings on a hearing plate 2. One side of disc 1 runs close to the surface .of plate 2 and it is driven in the direction of rotation indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2. An endless take-along belt 4 of suitable material such as rubber or plastic, partially embraces the periphery of disc 1, preferably about two-thirds of its circumference, and is supported by four pulleys 5 over which the belt runs. When disc 1 is rotated, then so also will the belt 4 be frictionally driven due to its running contact with a portion of the periphery of the disc.

A pair of axially parallel rotatable cylindrical rolls 6 are arranged laterally of the periphery of disc 1 for rota- 'tion about axes normal to the axis of rotation of disc 1.

These rolls 6 are urged by spring 6a into contact with each other along a straight line parallel to their axes so as to develop a springable and yieldable engagement when running idle, i.e. with no wire therebetween. The line of touching contact between the two rolls 6 extends parallel to the plane of movement of belt 4 and adjacent the front face 1a of disc 1 which, as seen in'FIG. 1, is

. bevelled.

rolls 6 in a holder Sin such manner as to permit the core to be easily attached and detached for winding. Located directly below rolls 6 is the larger entrance end 9 of a horn-shaped, stationary guide channel 10, the other smaller, leaving end of this guide being disposed in close proximity to the periphery of disc 1 near the running-on point of belt 4, i.e. in the nip where belt 4 passes between one of the rollers 5 and disc 1. Channel 10 is also open along its entire length in the direction facing disc 1. Immediately opposite the running-off point of belt 4 on disc 1 at the upper roller 5 is the larger admitting end 12 of another horn-shaped, stationary guide channel 13 which is open along its entire length in the direction facing disc 1. The smaller, leaving end 14 of channel 13 is located closely over the opening in ring core 7.

The wire 15 to be wound onto the core 7 is cut to the required length, depending upon the number of turns to be wound on the core, and is fastened at its rear end in a simple clamping device 17. The leading end of the wire is then inserted from above, through the opening in core 7, and thence into the nip between counter-rotating rolls 6 which carry the wire through the rolls and into and through guide channel 10. The leading end of the wire leaves channel 10 at its exit end 11 and engages the periphery of disc 1 between the latter and belt 4, as indicated in FIG. 2. The leading end of wire is driven around the periphery of disc 1 by the circular conveying means represented by the running contact between disc 1 and belt 4, as shown in FIG. 3, whereby the wire is lastly stretched, so that rolls 6 now slide at the wire and then the latter wanders between the rolls toward disc 1 as shown in FIG. 4. By this time, the leading end of the wire has now entered into the other guide channel 13 and is being guided toward the core 7. Due to the stretched condition of the wire and due to the somewhat setback arrangement of the plane of the circulating path relative to rolls 6, the wire part, continuing the circulation with its leading end is gradually moved sideways between the periphery of disc 1 and belt 4, then pulled over the bevelled edge at the front face 1a and then leaves the rolls 6, as shown in FIG. 5.

When the leading end of wire 15 reaches core 7 it passes throughthe core and is thence once more introduced into the nip between rolls 6 and pushed ahead by them, as shown in FIG. 6. This produces a winding loop 16 in wire 15 which has now left the circulating means 1, 4 and is pulled tight to a winding on core 7 due to the new circulation. The process of loop formation is repeated over and over until the core 7 has been provided wtih the desired number of turns. The clamping action at clamp means 17 is then loosened and the wound ring core removed from holder 8. The leading end of the wire which has then already gotten under belt 4 can then simply be drawn out.

In order to facilitate and accelerate manual insertion of the leading end of wire 15 into the opening in core 7, a funnel-shaped auxiliary channel member, not illustrated, can be provided, this auxiliary channel member terminating close above the opening in core 7 and being mounted for a swivel motion if desired.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for winding ring cores and especially cores of small dimensions which comprises a circular disc, means mounting said disc for rotation about its axis, an endless take-along belt embracing a portion of the periphery of said disc, said belt being carried on pulleys and running in contact with the periphery of said disc, wire 'feed means located adjacent that part of the periphery of said disc not embraced by said take-along belt, said wire feed means and the periphery of said disc having the same wire advancing speed, a holder for said ring core located adjacent said wire feed means, a first wire guide channel disposed between the wire leaving end of said wire feed means and the point on the periphery of said disc where said belt engages the periphery, a second wire guide channel disposed between the point on the periphery of said disc where said belt disengages itself from the periphery and said ring core holder, said channels being open in the direction facing said disc, and means for holding the rear end of the length of wire to be wound on said ring core, the leading end of said wire after its initial feed by hand into said feed means being carried in repetitive circular paths around said disc and through said guide channels and ring core.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 for winding ring cores wherein said wire feed means is constituted by a pair of driven feed rolls between which the wire is fed, said rolls being mounted for rotation on parallel axes dis posed normal to the axis of rotation of said disc.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 for winding ring cores wherein said wire feed rolls are spring loaded toward a line of engagement located in plane'adjacent one end face of said disc, wherein the wire entering end of said first guide channel and the wire leaving end of said second guide channel are located adjacent the line of engagement between said wire feed rolls, and wherein the wire leaving end of said first guide channel and the wire entering end of said second guide channel are located adjacent the middle line of the periphery of said disc.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 for winding ring cores wherein said wire guide channels are horn-shaped,

the smaller end of said first wire guide channel terminating adjacent the feed-on point of said belt on the periphery of said disc and the smaller end of said second wire guide channel terminating adjacent said ring core holder and the Opening in said ring core.

5. Apparatus for winding ring cores and especially cores of small dimensions which comprises a circular disc, means mounting said disc for rotation about its axis, an endless take-along belt embracing a portion of the periphery of said disc, said belt being carried on pulleys and running in contact with the periphery of said disc, a pair of feed rolls located adjacent that part of the periphery of said disc not embraced by said take-along belt and between which the wire is fed at a speed corresponding to the surface speeds of said rolls and disc which are alike, said feed rolls being arranged with their axes parallel and normal to the axis of rotation of said disc, means biasing said rolls into engagement with each other, the line of engagement between said rolls being located substantially in a plane which contains an end face of said disc which is bevelled, a holder for the ring core located above said pair of feed rolls and through which the leading end of said wire is first led by hand, a first wire guide channel disposed between the wire leaving side of said rolls and point on the periphery of said disc where said belt engages the periphery, a second wire guide channel disposed between the point on the periphery of said disc where said belt disengages itself from the periphery and said ring core holder, said channels being open in the direction facing said disc and means for holding the rear end of the length of wire to be wound on said ring core, the leading end of said wire after its initial feed by hand into the nip between said feed rolls being carried in repetitive circular paths around said disc and through said guide channelsand ring core, the wire entering end of said first guide channel and the wire leaving end of said second guide channel being located in a plane generally coinciding with the line of engagement between said feed rolls and the center of said ring core, and the wire entering end of said second guide channel and the wire leaving end of said first guide channel being located in a plane established at the middle of the periphery of said disc.

6. Apparatus for winding ring cores as defined in claim 5 wherein said first and second wire guide channels are generally horn-shaped, the smaller end of said first guide channel terminating adjacent the point on the periphery of said disc Where said belt engages the periphery, and the smaller end of said second guide channel terminating adjacent said ring core.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,865,573 12/ 1958 Tarara et a1 2424 3,000,580 9/1961 'Matouich 2424 3,030,038 4/1962 Baker et al. 2424 3,132,816 5/1964 Oshima 2424 FRANK J. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

B. S. TAYLOR, Assistant Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR WINDING RING CORES AND ESPECIALLY CORES OF SMALL DIMENSIONS WHICH COMPRISES A CIRCULAR DISC, MEANS MOUNTING SAID DISC FOR ROTATING ABOUT ITS AXIS, AN ENDLESS TAKE-ALONG BELT EMBRACING A PORTION OF THE PERIPHERY OF SAID DISC, SAID BELT BEING CARRIED ON PULLEYS AND RUNNING IN CONTACT WITH THE PERIPHERY OF SAID DISC, WIRE FEED MEANS LOCATED ADJACENT THAT PART OF THE PERIPHERY OF SAID DISC NOT EMBRACED BY SAID TAKE-ALONG BELT, SAID WIRE FEED MEANS AND THE PERIPHERY OF SAID DISC HAVING THE SAME WIRE ADVANCING SPEED, A HOLDER FOR SAID RING CORE LOCATED ADJACENT SAID WIRE FEED MEANS, A FIRST WIRE GUIDE CHANNEL DISPOSED BETWEEN THE WIRE LEAVING END OF SAID WIRE FEED 